


Invisible

by sunflower_swan



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Communication, Drunkenness, Fluff, Friendship, Hogwarts Fifth Year, Humor, Insecurity, Invisibility Cloak (Harry Potter), M/M, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Mild Language, POV Remus Lupin, Pining, Romance, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-08
Updated: 2020-12-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:06:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,674
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27576272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunflower_swan/pseuds/sunflower_swan
Summary: Everyone knows the Marauders are ubiquitous with Mischief. Sirius has been telling corny, cheesy jokes all week and won’t stop until Remus admits he is funny, but Remus refuses on principle. James proposes a high-stakes wager and all bets are off when Sirius tries to make the professors in their classes that day laugh. The next day, the reality of winning or losing the bet may not be what either of them expected.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 10
Kudos: 91
Collections: Wolfstar Games 2020





	1. Friday

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for Wolfstar Games 2020.  
> Theme: Communication  
> Team: Sight  
> Prompt: T16 - “You can’t see me, can you? You look at me, and you can’t see me.” --12th Doctor, Doctor Who
> 
> Enormous THANK YOU to my alpha, beta, cheerleaders, and pre-reader. For anonymity, I will not name you here, but you know who you are, and should know that I LOVE YOU and this fic would not exist without you having my back. XOXO
> 
> Thank you to the mods for organizing this fest. Signing up to be a Pinch Hitter was one of the craziest, dumbest, smartest, exhilarating things I have done. Wolfstar is my OTP and I am in love with this story.

The golden morning sun filtered through the large gothic windows and the enchanted ceiling reflected a brilliant blue sky. Together they hinted at a day full of promise.

Remus glanced around the Great Hall as he filled his plate with bacon and scrambled eggs. He allowed the clattering of silverware and cacophony of his housemates’ voices to wash over him while he searched for the cream for his coffee. It was close to the full moon and he needed the caffeine boost that tea wouldn’t give him.

A tap on his arm pulled him out of his reverie.

“What’s orange and sounds like a parrot?” Sirius leaned forward, eyebrows raised.

“I don’t know, what?” Remus rested his chin in his hand, already embarrassed by what was sure to be yet another terrible joke.

“A carrot!” Sirius grinned.

To Remus’ left sat Peter, who was in mid-sip of pumpkin juice -- to the great misfortune of Mary Macdonald sitting across from Peter that morning.

“Ugh! Peter!” Mary cried, pumpkin juice dripping off her face.

Peter covered his mouth. “I’m so sorry, Mary! Here, let me help you!”

“No,” Mary stood, “thank you. I’ll take care of it myself.”

Peter mouthed wordlessly as those nearby watched Mary stomp out of the Great Hall.

“Good job, Pete.” Remus clapped him on the back. “Congratulations on the successful interaction with a woman.”

“Here’s another…” Sirius started.

“Don’t you think the table has suffered enough, Pads?” Remus nodded his head in Peter’s direction.

Sirius had been going all week like this, and every time he told a new one, Peter would lose it. Remus was more amused by Peter’s lack of social graces than Sirius’ poor attempts at humour.

He silently wondered if there was a Greatest Muggle Joke book hidden away in their dorm room somewhere. Maybe if he found it, then the madness would stop. 

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you didn’t like my jokes, Moony.” Sirius frowned and stuck out his lower lip.

Remus stared at that lip for a fraction of a second too long before clearing his throat. “Ok. I guess one more won’t hurt.” He felt his ears burn a little.

Sirius winked at him. “Why did the pirate walk the plank?”

“Why?” Remus sighed.

“His  _ dog _ was back on land!”

Peter started shaking with laughter.

Remus cast a glance over at him. Perhaps the kid should go see Madam Pomfrey. These abominations Sirius called jokes were more painful than funny.

“What’s wrong with Pete?” James asked, joining the conversation.

“Oh, finally paying attention to us now that Lily has left, huh?” Sirius said in mock offence and crossed his arms.

“She turn you down again?” asked Remus as he buttered a piece of toast.

“I don’t want to talk about it.” James took a bite of porridge.

“Here’s something to cheer you up, Prongs. Why did the invisible man turn down the job offer?”

“I don’t know, why?” said James.

“He couldn’t  _ see  _ himself doing it!”

James chuckled and poured milk into his tea.

Peter fell to the floor clutching his sides.

Remus groaned and covered his face. “I am begging you! Please, before Peter wets himself,” he gestured at the heap on the ground, “no more cheesy jokes.”

Sirius scooped some egg onto his fork. “I’ll stop when you admit I’m funny, Remus.”

Remus waved a piece of bacon at him. “You’re going to have to do better than these terrible one-liners you call a joke.”

Peter clambered back onto the bench and refilled his glass of pumpkin juice. 

“Gentlemen, I believe I have the solution.” James rubbed his hands together and looked to each of the marauders in turn. “I think a good old-fashioned wager is in order.”

“What exactly do you have in mind, Prongs?” Sirius asked with a sly grin.

Any idea of James could be counted on to have a modicum of mischief.

“The bet will hinge on whether Sirius can get every professor to laugh at a joke today,” James explained.

Remus scrutinized James. “We have Sprout, Flitwick, and Slughorn today. That’s too easy.” He bit the end off his bacon.

“If we had McGonagall, then Sirius would lose for sure.” Peter chortled.

Sirius’ eyes widened. “First of all,” he held up an index finger, “Minnie loves me. And second of all,” he held up a second finger, “those three will not be easy.

He continued, “Ok, Sprout, maybe. Hufflepuffs will laugh at anything. But Slughorn and Flitwick? They’d as soon give me detention as laugh at one of my amazing jokes.

“No,” he steepled his fingers under his chin, “this will take careful planning and execution.”

The colour drained from Peter’s face. “What if you just make them mad and they give us extra homework? I’m barely keeping up with the O.W.L.S. prep work we have now!”

Remus studied Sirius who was still deep in thought over how to approach his side of the proposed bet. His forehead furrowed and brows knitted over eyes the colour of a storming sea.

Tearing his gaze away from Sirius, he said to James, “I don’t think he can do it -- I’m in. What stakes are we talking here, Prongs?”

James scratched his chin. “I will be the impartial judge. By dinnertime tonight, I will announce the winner of the bet.

“If Sirius loses and fails to make every professor laugh today, then...he has to wear a girls uniform all day tomorrow.

A shadow of a flicker of fear crossed Sirius' face before he said, “No problem! I can totally rock a skirt. Have you seen these legs? I would look like a dark-haired Farah Faucett.” He lifted a hairy and toned leg above the table as he shook his hair.

James continued, “If Remus loses then...he has to wear my invisibility cloak all day tomorrow.”

“What?” Remus baulked. “All day?! Come on! It’s Hogsmeade tomorrow! You expect me to be invisible...all day? How will I be able to talk to, uh...girls? Nobody notices me as it is, this will be so much worse.”

“What’s wrong?” Sirius smirked. “Expecting to lose, Moony?

Remus narrowed his eyes. “I look forward to seeing you in a skirt tomorrow.”

~~~~~

After breakfast, the Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs wandered down to the greenhouses for Double Herbology.

“Hmm, maybe...or...no…” Sirius muttered to himself.

Remus sidled up next to him. “It’s not too late to back out, you know. No one would think you a cowardly lion.”

The corners of Sirius' mouth turned up and he clapped Remus on the back. “Oh, my dear Mister Moony. Today is going to be one for the record books.”

That’s what Remus was afraid of. He knew Sirius to be a bit reckless even in the best of times. It was, in a way, an endearing quality, but it also meant fishing him out of trouble more often than Remus would like to count. Even though Remus was a Prefect, it didn’t put a damper on James and Sirius’ antics.

Despite not wanting to wear James’ invisibility cloak for an entire day, the prospect of it excited him. That was assuming Sirius could manage to pull off the monumental task of not getting detention in his effort to make the professors laugh.

It wouldn’t matter much if he was wearing the cloak or not. Sirius didn’t seem to see him anyway. At least, not in the way Remus wished.

When Sirius and Remus joined the rest of the class queued outside Greenhouse Four, James was rubbing his cheek with a dazed look in his eyes and Lily was marching off to the other end of the line.

“Lily slapped him,” Peter explained.

_ Yeah. That makes sense _ , Remus thought.

“You certainly know what it takes to tick her off!” Sirius barked. “At this rate, you might die before you figure out the right thing to say.”

James was unable to respond because Professor Sprout appeared at that moment.

“This way, dearies!” she called.

The class followed her into the greenhouse and circled a table containing a row of potted plants that looked like something from  _ Little Shop of Horrors _ .

Peter paled. “Why would a plant need such sharp fangs?” he whispered.

Sirius shrugged in response.

Remus studied the line of plants. Peter was right - those looked like some nasty biters.

Some of the plants were blue and others red, but they all had distinct rows of razor-sharp teeth lining the petals. The heads of the flowers bobbed back and forth above broad, spiky green leaves toward the sound of whoever was talking at the moment.

“Now, can anyone tell me what we have here?” Professor Sprout gestured toward the plants, which leaned in her direction when she began to speak.

Lily’s hand was the first to shoot into the air.

Sprout nodded in her direction.

“That’s a Fanged Geranium, professor. Its fangs are ground and used as potion ingredients and food.”

The Fanged Geraniums turned in Lily’s direction.

“Excellent! Ten points for Gryffindor!” Sprout smiled.

“There’s your answer, Wormtail,” Sirius whispered out the corner of his mouth.

“But why are they so…” He wiggled his index fingers next to his cheeks. “...pointy?” Peter said, moving his mouth as little as possible.

Between the fangs and the ability to sense sound, there was indeed something a little unsettling about the apparently sentient plants. Remus knew better than most not to judge by outward appearances. Even the most vicious creature, or in this case plant, could have a soft side.

If Sprout heard the boys side-conversation, then she ignored it and continued. 

“You will need your dragon-hide gloves today because these fangs are mature enough for harvesting.” She pulled on her gloves and a pair of goggles. “The trick is to not hesitate. Observe.”

Professor Sprout dove at the plant nearest her. She used one hand to prop the blossom open while the other hand grasped a fang and yanked hard. The Fanged Geranium’s blossom snapped shut right as Professor Sprout pulled back her arm, holding a long fang aloft in her hand.

Holy, Helga -- that woman was the most kick-ass Hufflepuff Remus had ever met.

“If you hesitate, then your arm will be caught. The fangs are not venomous, but I have  _ Essence of Dittany _ here,” she pulled a vial from her robes, “for when someone needs it.”

“For  _ when _ someone needs it?” Peter whimpered.

“There should be enough for four to a plant. Team up, take a pot to an empty table, get a fang collection tray, remember your goggles, and get to work. Don’t worry about hurting the plant, these fangs grow back every year.”

“Well, that’s reassuring.” James rolled his eyes.

Any thoughts Remus had about the softer side of the Fanged Geraniums vanished the moment he attempted to harvest the first fang.

Peter stood out of the way holding the fang collection tray. James and Sirius were on petal prying duty, and Remus had been nominated to plunge his arm into the maw. What’s a few more cuts and scars, right?

By the time Professor Sprout made it around to their table to check their progress, all the boys were dripping with sweat and breathing heavily. Remus had thrown more than a few choice words at his friends for their inability to keep the blossom from clamping down on his arm.

They all took a step back from their plant and pulled off their hot goggles as Sprout inspected their progress. She nodded her approval and started to move on. Before she took more than one step, Sirius piped up.

“Excuse me, Professor Sprout. I have a question,” he said.

Sprout turned back toward their table. “Yes, what is it, Mister Black?”

Remus looked nervously between Sirius and Sprout. “Don’t do this,” he hissed.

Sirius winked at him and continued, “How do plants say hello?”

“Please don’t,” Peter whispered and shielded his eyes.

“Well,” said Professor Sprout thoughtfully, “it depends on the type of magical plan--”

“ALOE!”

James quickly looked away and clamped his mouth in a firm line, shaking in his attempt to hold in his laughter.

Remus and Peter groaned.

Professor Sprout looked at each boy in turn, before the corner of her mouth quirked up. She giggled and turned away to go to the next table.

Sirius fist-pumped the air. “One down, two to go!”

By the end of class, everyone had cuts and scrapes up and down their arms. Sore and weary, the Gryffindors drug themselves to Charms class.

~~~~~

Remus and Peter took seats next to each other and directly behind James and Sirius.

James patted Sirius on the back. “Nice one with Sprout. What’s the plan for Flitwick?”

“Not sure -- I’ll think of something in the moment. More fun that way,” he said with a smirk, then turned to face Remus.

“Sprout was an easy start. Flitwick will not go for it.” Remus shook his head. “You’re going to look fabulous in that skirt tomorrow, Pads.”

Sirius eyes’ narrowed at Remus' implication. “Get ready to enjoy the show, Moony.”

No matter how this turned out, he was going to enjoy the show.

Flitwick moved to the front of the classroom and stood on a towering stack of books.

“Today class, we will be practising a simple, yet effective, banishing spell for intrusive household pests. It is similar to the standard Banishing Spell,  _ Depulso _ , of which you are familiar," Professor Flitwick squeaked. " The incantation is, repeat after me,  _ Formiculso _ .”

“ _ Formiculso _ ,” the class echoed in unison.

“Very good. The hand movement is a simple sweep of the wand, as thus.”

He demonstrated the motion with a flourish.

“For this practice to be effective, we will be using live ants. There are jars over here.” He motioned to a table beside him. “There should be enough for one jar between two people.”

Half of the class rose to fetch their small jar of ants.

“Um…” Peter nudged Remus. “What kind of pests do you think this spell is meant for? Like, not rats, I hope?”

Remus rolled his eyes and stood to collect their jar. “You’re safe, Peter -- unless you plan on transforming in the middle of Charms class. And if you did, then you’d have bigger problems than a Banishing Spell.”

Upon returning to his seat, he found Sirius turned around again.

“I’ve got the  _ perfect _ joke,” he said with a crooked grin.

“Oh, really? Well, good luck with it.”

Sirius winked before turning back around, and Remus let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding.

While Peter took a turn at practising the spell, Remus studied the back of Sirius' head. He had the most gorgeous, dark wavy hair. The way the light reflected off it when he ran his hand through made Remus long to run his fingers through it, too.

More than anything, Remus wished for the opportunity to stare, quiet and uninterrupted, at Sirius’ face. He would commit every curve and dip to memory. But normal friends don’t do that because it would be weird. With a resigned sigh, he turned his attention back to see how Peter was doing.

Working with the ants proved to be almost more challenging than the spell itself. After Peter accidentally crushed his fifth ant instead of Banishing it, Remus suggested he sit back and observe for a while.

Flitwick was moving through the class, offering compliments and suggestions for improvement. He made it to the boy’s table and asked them each to demonstrate -- they all got assigned extra practice for homework.

Before the Professor could leave, Sirius stopped him.

“What did the entomologist say to the biting ant?”

Professor Flitwick raised a woolly brow and said, “I don’t know. What?”

“Arresto Ant-mentum!”

For a long second, he stared at Sirius. Then the bristles of his moustache began to quiver. Soon he was chuckling and his eyes squinted shut. 

While Flitwick was laughing, Sirius slowly turned in his seat, smirked and waggled his eyebrows at Remus, and then turned back around.

“Oh, ho! Very clever, Mister Black! Very clever indeed. You see, boys,” he addressed James, Peter, and Remus, “it’s funny because the mentum is part of the labium in some insects, and the labium forms the floor of an insect’s mouth. So, an entomologist, a person who studies insects, would tell a biting insect to literally, stop biting.”

The boys gawked at Professor Flitwick as he explained the funny out of the joke and then wiped a laughter tear from the corner of his eye.

“On second thought,” he said, “don’t worry about that extra homework. I feel confident you’ll get it just fine.” With a smile, he moved on to the next group of students.

“Oh. My. Gods!” James shook Sirius' shoulders and snickered.

“Oh, my Gods.” Remus buried his face in his hands.

“So, uh, no extra homework?” Peter grinned.

~~~~~

If someone told Remus that James and Sirius could find a way to become more ego-inflated than they already were, then he would not have believed them.

He could not have been more wrong.

“Make way, coming through!” James declared, clearing a path in the corridor for Sirius. “King Animalia, master of Insecta needs to get to his next class.”

Sirius strutted behind James and waved regally at his ‘subjects.’

Peter and Remus stayed a few paces back and brought up the rear.

“Think he’s going to manage it?” Peter asked.

“Two down, one to go,” Remus mumbled.

“Have you thought about what it might be like to be invisible all day tomorrow? Would you still go to Hogsmeade? What if people run into you?” Peter's voice squeaked higher with each anxious question.

Remus cast him a sideways glance. “Like I said, one more to go.”

Drastic times call for drastic measures and Remus wasn’t going to lose this bet without putting up a fight.

~~~~~

The comedic royal treatment continued throughout lunch. James went so far as to fill Sirius' plate, taste-test his food for poison, and then actually feed him.

Lily watched the display with confusion written all over her face. She raised a brow and leaned toward Remus. “So...these two being weird together is nothing new, but what exactly is happening here?”

Remus shook his head. “It’s probably better if you don’t know. My brain can hardly handle it.”

“It’s just so --”

“Open the hangar,” said James as he made aeroplane noises and fed a fork of roast chicken into Sirius’ mouth.

“-- beyond their normal weird.”

“Oh, believe me. I’m aware.” Remus nodded and served himself some roast beef.

~~~~~

After lunch, they had a free period before double Potions with the Slytherins.

Remus suggested they all sit in the courtyard and enjoy the pleasant day. After all, tomorrow he might be invisible. Can one enjoy the sunshine when they can’t be seen?

No sooner had their feet hit the cobblestones outside, than Sirius stopped in his tracks, his face alight with glee.

He snapped his fingers and said, “I got it! I’ll be back!” Then he tore back into the castle, messenger bag trailing behind him, and yelled, “I’ll see you in Potions!”

“Where’s he going?” asked Peter.

“Absolutely no idea,” replied Remus. “But I imagine it’s something to do with the bet, which means it’s probably nothing good.”

“Aw, lighten up, Moony.” James gripped him around the shoulders and tousled his hair.

“Hey, man! Just because you don’t know what a comb is, doesn’t mean the rest of us don’t either.” He unsuccessfully attempted to smooth his hair. “And I’ll lighten up when I know I don’t have to walk around invisible all day tomorrow.”

Remus stalked to a nearby bench and sat down. 

James plopped down next to Remus and pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket. “Want to play a round of Exploding Snap?” he asked.

“Not right now, thanks,” Remus muttered.

He had other more important things on his mind than a frivolous card game.

“I’ll play!” Peter sat cross-legged on the ground in front of James.

The prospect of losing the bet agitated Remus, but sitting in the sunlight warmed his face and acted as a calming balm to his nerves. He was still uncertain of the best way to diminish Sirius’ chances of winning, while also guaranteeing none of them would end up in detention. Like Sirius, he supposed he would have to improvise on the fly. No one ever said cheating wasn’t allowed, right?

~~~~~

Much too quickly, for Remus’ liking, their free period was over and he still hadn’t concocted a scheme to derail what felt like Sirius’ almost certain victory. He strode through the corridors with James and Peter, headed to Potions.

They reached the classroom and were surprised to find Sirius already seated. Remus quickly manoeuvred around James and Peter to sit next to him.

Sirius’ fingers tapped a fast, rhythmic beat upon the wood tabletop. He flashed Remus a toothy grin.

“Ready for this, Moony?” he asked.

“Are you?” Remus replied.

Perhaps the pressure of winning was bordering on too much for Sirius. His eyes were wide in a maniacal fashion and tiny beads of sweat had formed across his forehead.

“This one is going to be a bit of a gamble, but what’s life without a little risk, eh?” Sirius explained.

Remus leaned closer to Sirius. In a hushed voice with false bravado, he said, “You don’t have to do this, you know? We could call it off now. No sense of landing yourself in detention.”

Sirius shifted even closer to Remus. Their noses were millimetres apart -- Remus forgot to breathe.

“If I forfeit, then I lose,” he whispered.

The image of Sirius in a pleated skirt, coupled with the feel of his warm breath against his cheek, caused Remus’ brain to short-circuit. He was too distracted to try and stop Sirius from his task before Professor Slughorn started class.

“Good afternoon!” Slughorn smiled broadly and clasped his hands together behind his back. “You will be working on a very fun little potion today called  _ Befuddlement Draught _ . Can anyone tell me the effect on the drinker of such a potion?”

A few hands raised into the air, and Professor Slughorn made a slow, theatrical show of looking around at each of them in turn.

“Yes, Severus?” he finally said.

Lowering his hand, Snape drawled, “When brewed properly, the  _ Befuddlement Draught _ takes on a dark green hue and leaves the drinker with a sense of recklessness from the inability to think clearly.”

He glanced over his left shoulder at the Marauders. “Not that some of us need a potion to behave in such a way,” Snape added under his breath with a sneer.

“Thank you, Severus! An exemplary textbook definition -- ten points to Slytherin.”

Professor Slughorn moved down the centre aisle, and continued, “This is a potion that is very likely to come up in your O.W.L.S. so be sure to give it your utmost attention.

“Ingredients and instructions are on the board.” He waved his wand and the words magically appeared on the previously clean board. “You have one hour, good luck.”

Pulling his cauldron onto the table, Remus began to read the ingredients and instructions.

Beside him, Sirius was doing much the same, but muttering under his breath.  “Some of us don’t need a potion to behave in such a way,” he said in a mocking voice.

“You believe that greasy git?” he whispered toward Remus. “I swear, one of these days.”

Remus only nodded. He had hoped the animosity between Sirius and Severus would have diminished as they all got older and more mature. If anything though, their open hostility had grown more intense as the years progressed. This year seemed to be worse than ever and headed for something catastrophic if Sirius didn’t learn to let things go.

Lighting the flame under his cauldron, Remus set to work preparing the ingredients. He hoped the fumes from this potion didn’t cause Sirius to act more rashly than he seemed to be planning.

Paying attention to his brewing, and keeping an eye on Sirius, proved a difficult challenge. Sirius was distracting at the best of times, and today he followed Slughorn's progress around the room like a hawk waiting to strike on an unsuspecting rodent. If only Remus knew what Sirius had up his sleeve, then maybe he would stand a chance to foil Sirius’ plan.

Slughorn checked on Peter and James' progress, and out of the corner of his eye, Remus saw Sirius pull something from the inner pocket of his robes. He glanced over and a vial containing a clear liquid was clutched in Sirius’ fist at his side -- presumably what Sirius had run to retrieve during their free period.

“Sirius,” Remus hissed out the corner of his mouth. “What is that?”

Then he remembered the half-empty bottle sitting under a loose floorboard in their dorm that Sirius smuggled in for James and Remus’ birthday’s last month. The foggy memory of too many shots of the Muggle liquor, too much flirting, and the pain in the morning flooded his brain.

But there was no way...no way Sirius would do this.

Before he had a chance to stop him, Slughorn moved to their table.

He peered down into each of their cauldrons in turn, making notes on his clipboard.

“Good work, gentleman.” He smiled and nodded. “Two very fine examples of the  _ Befuddlement Draught _ .”

_ Really? _ Remus peeked into his cauldron. That response was unexpected, considering he’d been more focused on what Sirius was up to than paying attention to his work. But it did have the dark green tint that Severus had mentioned at the start of class.

Slughorn started to turn to the next table, but Sirius called him back.

“Sir! I have invented a potion.”

To their right, Snape scoffed.

This was it. Good ol’ Sluggy was in a positive mood from their exemplary work, probably feeling a little befuddled himself from the fumes -- all increasing the likeliness of him laughing instead of throwing Sirius in detention. Even if Sirius thought his plan was a gamble, Remus could see his own chances of winning the bet dwindling down to almost zero.

Professor Slughorn turned and raised a brow. “Oh?”

Sirius continued, “Yes. It enhances beauty and makes the drinker believe they are more interesting to other people.”

He held up the vial of clear liquid.

_ Oh, shit. He is really doing this. What if I ‘accidentally’ bumped him and knocked the vial out of his hands? _

“What is it?” Slughorn squinted and examined the vial.

“Vodka.”

_ Too late. _

Behind them, James choked on a laugh.

Slowly, Slughorn blinked. Remus could see the wheels spinning in his professor’s head as realization dawned on him.

“Oh-ho! Mister Black, you scally-wag!” he chuckled, his large belly bouncing, as he wagged his finger.

“However, I’m afraid I must confiscate this.” He plucked the vial from Sirius' fingers. “You’re not allowed to have alcohol on school property.  Five points  _ from  _ Gryffindor for the alcohol, and fifteen points  _ for  _ Gryffindor for creative, outside the bottle, er...box, thinking.”

He offered Sirius a half-grin and a wink and moved to the next table.

Leaning forward on the table with both hands, Remus closed his eyes, and let out a long, slow, breath. He should have just knocked the vial out of Sirius’ hands, but he didn’t think fast enough.

From behind him came a slow clap that must have been James.

He’d lost the bet and would spend the next day under the invisibility cloak.


	2. Saturday

Saturday morning dawned as bright and clear as the previous day, it’s beauty mocking Remus’ feeling of dread. He pulled back the curtains of his bed without making a sound and listened to the slow, steady breathing of his dorm-mates. They were all still sleeping so he decided to sneak out early and steal a few moments alone -- without the invisibility cloak.

He slipped out of bed and tip-toed to the door, willing it not to creak as he opened it...so far so good.

Taking extra care to dodge the noisiest stair treads, he made it to the Common Room and let out a sigh of relief...until he saw who was waiting for him.

Sirius leaned back on a sofa in bare feet, distressed jeans, and a well-worn  _ The Who _ shirt -- one arm propped on the armrest and the other hung over the back of the sofa -- a smug and expectant expression across his face.

“You’re up early. Going somewhere?”

_ Damn. _ Remus hung his head.  _ So much for that plan. _

“Morning,” he muttered, wishing he could smash his head in like a squeezebox.

Remus shuffled to the couch and plopped down.

Cocking his head to the side and raising an eyebrow, Sirius asked, “You have been acting funny since yesterday, are you afraid of being invisible to everyone?”

If he was honest, Remus was only dreading being invisible around him, but he didn’t want Sirius to know that.

“Eh.” He shrugged. “Won’t be much different than normal I suspect,” he lied.

Both Sirius’ eyebrows shot up. “Wow, you’re handling this far better than I would be,” he chuckled, “I was so distracted by the thought of winning, that I forgot to worry about losing or Slughorn throwing me in detention.”

“I think he probably considered it.” Remus tilted his head back against Sirius’ arm still lying across the back of the couch and closed his eyes.

After a beat, he turned his head to look at Sirius. “Actually, I’m not looking forward to it. But it’s only one day, right?”

“Moony, did you think I would let you be invisible AND alone?” Sirius' eyes sparkled and he ruffled Remus’ hair.

~~~~~

Eventually the rest of the fifth year Gryffindor boys made their way to the common room and brought James’ invisibility cloak with them.

Resigned to his fate and reminding himself it was only for the day, Remus slipped on the cloak and the group headed to the Great Hall for breakfast.

“Where’s Remus?” Lily looked at the other three Marauders approaching the Gryffindor table.

James patted the apparently empty air between him and Sirius, that was actually Remus’ back, and said with a grin, “He’s right here.”

“Hi, Lily,” Remus morosely said from under the cloak.

She leaned back in surprise and asked, “Remus, why are you wearing James’ cloak?”

Sirius explained the bet they made twenty-four hours prior, and Lily’s scowl grew the longer he talked.

“Is that why you were being... _ more _ obnoxious than usual yesterday?” she asked Sirius with a fire in her eyes.

“Hey!” Sirius’ brows drew together.

James let loose a loud snort before Lily rounded on him.

“And you,” she pointed a finger at James.

“Me?” James sheepishly gulped.

Lily’s nostrils flared and she shook her head. “James Potter, you’re a menace.”

With that, she stormed away without eating any breakfast at all.

“Bit of an overreaction, don’t you think?” Sirius nudged Remus with his elbow.

Remus felt it was an adequate and appropriate reaction to finding out a friend had managed to lose a bet rendering himself invisible for an entire day. 

Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself once again that no one forced him to accept James’ and Sirius’ bet, and he would accept his loss with dignity. Well, as much dignity as one can have in such circumstances.

The boys took seats along the long bench and Remus looked around at his friends filling their breakfast plates. 

_How am I supposed to eat today?_ he wondered. _Maybe...slip it under the cloak?_

Remus reached a hand from under the cloak and a momentarily disembodied arm snagged a muffin. 

_ Mmm, chocolate chip...this cloak is impermeable to stains, right? _

His musings were interrupted by Peter across the table.

“Hey, James,” Peter squeaked. “Will you help me with Potions homework today? I was absolute rubbish yesterday.”

James glanced at Sirius, probably wondering if it was worth helping Peter to miss Remus wandering invisible around Hogsmeade, then smiled. “Sure, Pete. I’d be happy to.”

_ Great. Just going to be me and Sirius at Hogsmeade today. Could be fun in a strange and invisible sort of way. Who knows? _

~~~~~

After breakfast, invisible-Remus and Sirius waved good-bye to Peter and James in the entrance hall. 

Walking along the lane toward Hogsmeade, Remus quickly realized being invisible today was going to be better than he could have hoped or expected. For one thing, he was able to do what he had long wished -- look at Sirius.

Not the quick, stolen glances he took when an opportunity arose. Under the invisibility cloak, Remus could really watch Sirius and commit every fine detail of him to memory.

The downside of this was he had to also pay attention to where he was walking because he damn near fell over his own feet a couple of times -- perhaps a little more attention to walking was necessary.

They made their way down the lane and turned onto the High Street.

“Where do you want to go first?” Sirius asked.

Remus shrugged -- he didn’t mind where they went, he just liked going there with Sirius -- then he remembered that Sirius could not see him shrug. Making a mental note that all forms on non-verbal communication were out for today, he said, “I don’t know. Where do you want to go?”

This was going to be a tiring day having to talk and not just get his point across with facial expressions and gestures.

Remus stayed mostly in step beside Sirius, occasionally dodging out of the way of other pedestrians. He glanced up at the wooden sign outside the entrance to the Hog’s Head and recalled the vodka-fueled birthday celebration a few weeks before.

_ A Quidditch match against Ravenclaw was scheduled the Saturday after Remus’ birthday, so the following weekend -- a week before James’ birthday -- Sirius surprised them all with a litre of cheap vodka with a highly dubious Russian sounding name. He wouldn’t tell them how he got it; all he would admit was he ‘knew a guy.’ _

_ Remus and Peter were elected to visit the kitchens and bring back carafes of pumpkin juice. According to Sirius, they needed a mixer because ‘only barbarians, like those from Durmstrang, drank their vodka straight.’ _

_ As the last of their group to turn sixteen, Sirius insisted on a real birthday celebration for Remus and James in their dorm. A ‘real birthday’ turned out to consist of too many pumpkin juice and vodka mixers, an ill-advised game of truth or dare, drunken almost-confessions, and everyone feeling awful the next morning, trying to piece together what transpired. _

_ The four marauders sat in a tight circle around four empty mugs with the pumpkin juice carafes and handle of vodka just outside the circle. Peter was to Remus’ left, Sirius to his right, and James across from him. _

_ “The game is Truth or Dare, gentleman,” Sirius explained. “The rules are simple: we go around the circle each choosing truth or dare -- if you don’t want to answer the truth or complete the dare, then you take a drink -- if you do it, then the person who asked takes a drink. The person who completed the last round gets to choose the next person. _

_ “And it starts,” he poured a splash of vodka into each cup, “with everyone taking a shot.” _

_ Remus peaked into the cup Sirius handed him and swirled the transparent liquid. He felt pretty certain Sirius was making up these rules as he went. “I thought you said only barbarians drank their vodka without a mixer.” _

_ “This is a shot, there’s a difference.” Sirius grinned. “Bottom’s up, boys.”  _

_ They all tipped back their shots -- Peter coughed, James eyes watered, and Sirius thumped his chest with his fist. _

_ An involuntary shudder ran down Remus’ back as the cheap liquor burned his mouth and throat. _

_ “James, truth or dare?” Sirius asked, and poured pumpkin juice and vodka into the four empty cups. _

_ “Truth.” _

_ “If you had to choose between going naked or having your thoughts appear in thought bubbles like a comic book for everyone to read, which would you choose?” _

_ Feeling a little reckless and spurred on by the burning shot he just consumed, Remus asked, “Do we ever  _ not _ know what he’s thinking?” _

_ James stuck his tongue out at Remus. “Despite what Moony may believe, I have some thoughts I don’t say out loud...going naked would be easier to recover from than everyone knowing what I’m thinking about.” _

_ Sirius took a drink. “Maybe you could get Lily to finally go out with you if she saw you naked.” _

_ Peter and Remus howled with laughter, and James punched Sirius in the shoulder. _

_ “Remus, truth or dare?” James raised an eyebrow. _

_ Suddenly Remus wasn’t sure he liked this game. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his friends...but he didn’t exactly trust his friends. _

_ “Uh -- um…” he stammered. “Truth?” _

_ Truth was probably the safe choice. _

_ “What does your dream girl look like?” _

_ Remus’ breath hitched; he felt the tips of his ears burn. Quickly, he glanced toward Sirius then back at a smirking James. _

_ He took a drink like a bloody coward instead of answering the question, then quickly said, “Truth or dare, Wormtail?” _

_ The game continued on and with the help of liquid courage, the dares began to outweigh the truths. _

_ James dared Sirius to exchange shirts with the person on his left and wear it for the remainder of the game -- for the rest of the night Remus wore Sirius’ shirt that was too big and smelled too much like Sirius, and Sirius wore his shirt that was a little too tight in all the right places. _

_ Sirius dared Peter to spin around ten times and try to walk straight -- he did so and stormed headfirst into the wall.  _

_ Peter dared Remus to have the person to his right do ten squats while he lay underneath them. James and Peter counted enthusiastically as Sirius performed ten squats over a mortified Remus. _

_ Remus dared James to dance aggressively until he ran out of breath -- after about five minutes he collapsed in a heap on the ground. _

_ Around midnight, Peter passed out and started snoring in Remus' bed. Although truth or dare had ended over an hour ago, James was stripped down to his pants and no one seemed to know for sure what he was doing. Remus and Sirius sat at the foot of Sirius’ bed, heads leaned together to help the other stay up. _

_ “Moony?” Sirius slurred. _

_ “Uh-huh?” Remus thickly replied. _

_ “Happy birthday, mate!” He clumsily reached for Remus’ hand. “You’re the best, you know that?” _

_ Remus giggled. “I’m not the best at drinking.” _

_ Sirius adjusted position so his head rested on Remus’ shoulder and he curled his legs up so his knees lay across Remus’ thighs -- he still held a tight grip to Remus’ hand. _

_ “No, man, I mean…” He took a deep breath and exhaled warmly onto Remus’ neck. “...you’re just, like...the best.” _

Present-Sirius' voice brought him crashing back to reality.

“What about Zonko’s? Could use a few Stink Pellets...for emergencies of course.”

Remus nodded as the memory faded, replaced by a dull ache of longing.

Sirius stopped walking and hurriedly looked around. “Remus?!”

“I’m still here,” Remus said next to him.

“Do you realize how difficult it is to communicate with someone when you don’t see them?

“Sorry, Pads. I guess I never realized how much I shrug or nod instead of talking. Let’s go to Zonko’s.”

_ Yep, not much different from normal as far as not seeing me...except when he’s drunk _ , Remus thought.

The pair went to  _ Zonko’s _ and  _ Scrivenshaft’s Quills _ before ducking into The Three Broomsticks. Remus sat with his back to the wall, facing Sirius and the front door of the pub.

“Would you get me a butterbeer?” Remus asked. “And maybe an order of chips we could share?”

Standing, Sirius grunted in acknowledgement and headed to the bar. Apart from Sirius’ frustration at not being able to see his friend, the day wasn’t as terrible as Remus had anticipated. 

Sirius came back and set down the two butterbeers. “Chips will be out shortly,” he said and took a swig.

“You know,” he continued, “you could probably take the cloak off now. It’s been most of a day.”

_ Take...the cloak...off? _ Remus had grown fond of wearing it in such a short amount of time and the idea of removing it caused him some anguish. It was rather nice under the cloak and he thought he wouldn’t mind if he had to keep it on forever. The anonymity was refreshing and being invisible meant Sirius had to do all the interacting with people for Remus.

“No...I mean, the bet was for the entire day...so it...it wouldn’t be right...”

“Moony, I don’t care about the stupid bet anymore.” Sirius sighed and laid his forehead on the table. “I’m tired of feeling like I’m talking to myself and walking by myself. I know you’re right there, but it’s just not the same.”

“Well, that kind of sounds like it’s all about you, Padfoot. What about me? I happen to be very happy under this cloak. Maybe I’ll never take it off.”

Sirius picked his head up. “I will buy out  _ Honeydukes _ for you if you take the cloak off right now.”

~~~~~

The pair left The Three Broomsticks, and Sirius continued to beg Remus to remove the cloak all the way back to the castle, and into the Gryffindor common room.

Remus climbed through the portrait hole after Sirius.

Peter and James were sitting by the fireplace playing Wizard’s Chess -- Peter’s queen was dragging a knight off the board. When she returned she held her dagger to the king’s throat and declared checkmate.

“James!” Sirius called and trotted over to them.

The pair looked up and Peter savoured the moment before resetting the board. 

“What’s up? Is Remus still with you?” James asked, lifting an eyebrow.

Sirius stood over them with his hands on his hips. “Moony won’t take the damn cloak off!”

“What do you mean he won’t take it off?” James laughed. “He didn’t even want to put it on this morning.”

“Well!” Sirius threw his hands into the air. “Now he wants to keep it on. I’ve been trying to convince him all afternoon, but he says he likes it under there.  You try to talk to him.” Sirius gestured in Remus’ general direction and sat down. “I’m out of ideas.”

James stood. “Did you try coaxing him out with chocolate?”

“What is this, amateur hour?” Sirius scoffed and rolled his eyes. “I offered to buy out  _ Honeydukes  _ \-- no dice.”

While the other boys discussed him, Remus considered going upstairs for a nap before dinner. Between the opportunity to unabashedly observe Sirius, and the burden of having to actually talk and not just shrug or nod to communicate, the day had been equal parts exhilarating and exhausting.

He had one foot on the bottom step when James called out to him.

“Moony? Where are you, man? The bet is over, you can take the cloak off.”

“No!” Remus shouted and pounded up the stairs.

It was strange to think that eight hours ago, all he wished for was to not be wearing this cloak. Yet now he only wanted to leave it on. 

Today had proved revealing in multiple ways, not least of all realizing his feelings for Sirius ran much deeper than he had allowed himself to previously believe. He wondered about Sirius’ insistence at him removing the cloak and for a moment, allowed himself to hope Sirius might feel something more than friendship toward him as well.

The door creaked open and Sirius' appeared in the doorway.

“Remus?” he said quietly. “Where are you?”

“Sitting at the foot of my bed,” replied Remus.

Sirius stepped in front of where Remus was sitting and knelt down. He patted his hands around until he found Remus’ knees.

“Please take the cloak off? I miss seeing you -- I…” He shut his eyes. “...This bet, it was funny this morning, but as the day went on I realized…”

Remus' mouth went dry; he could feel his heart beating in his throat.

“Realized what?” he shakily asked.

Sirius raked a trembling hand through his wavy black locks. When he opened his stormy eyes, Remus saw a fire he hadn’t seen since the party. 

Biting his bottom lip, Sirius said, “Today was complete torture for me. Seeing you is the best part of my day. I may have won the bet, but I felt like I lost because it meant being around you but not getting to see you.”

Remus' heart leapt. The tiny flicker of hope that Sirius might return his feelings danced and swayed in his chest.

He grabbed a handful of cloak and slowly pulled it over his head, letting it fall to the floor.

Sirius reached his right hand up and cupped Remus' face.

Remus felt his skin flush from the touch.

“Hey, there,” Sirius said with a lop-sided smile.

Leaning his head into Sirius’ hand, Remus placed his left hand over the other boy’s.  “Why did it have to take me wearing the invisibility cloak for you to finally see me?” he whispered.

“I’ve always seen you.” Sirius leaned closer. “Today made me realize how much I miss you when I can’t.”

Sirius’ face was so close, their noses were nearly touching. Remus’ brain stopped functioning the moment his lips met Sirius’ lips, sliding over them light and hesitant.

A small smoulder of a spark ignited, and soon fireworks exploded in his chest and time stood still. He felt like he was floating and could not believe that the thing he wanted more than anything in the world was happening, and it would not have been possible without an ill-advised wager and him spending the day invisible.

After all, a day was better than a lifetime.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for coming on this wild ride with me! This is so far the longest fic I have posted and when it was in the planning stages it freaked me out to think how long it was going to be. I really wanted to do my team proud, and I feel like I accomplished that -- Team Sight!

**Author's Note:**

> **Mod Note**
> 
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